Still Checking It Twice

I would not have known terms such as "grayscale" or "sepia tone" in the early 1950s, but looking through the family collection of photographs from the time, they were the only normal choices. All the snapshots are grayscale (then incorrectly termed 'black & white' which would actually indicate a silhouette) while posed portraits were often in the sepia.
And by the early 50s, my brother Cliff would always be in line with me, sometimes seeing Santa at the same time as I did.
It appears that I always did like wearing sweaters! More views of Santa in the 50s in the next post.

Still Making a List

Yes, Santa is still making that list much as he has for so many years. Here are some souvenir shots from the late 1940s -- yes, sixty winters ago -- with me telling Santa what was on my list. For the life of me, I cannot remember what WAS on the list, and I have decided that the list itself, the hope that so often comes true on Christmas Eve or Christmas Morning, is really the list we all have.
I certainly seemed to be paying close attention to that wonderful beard and mustache in the second photo, didn't I?
More Christmas memories in the next post.

Two More Trees

Trees look prettier to me in spring, more lush in summer, and more exquisitely beautiful in fall. But with the right light in the sky, trees are much more strikingly interesting and complex in winter.
Tomorrow we will begin a look at Christmas photos, featuring various eras of children and one jolly bearded man dressed either in red or in its greyscale equivalent.

Roads

The image of the winding or curving roadway has been a staple in graphic imagery for centuries. Long before photography, painters and sketchers depicted that image, and Winterscapes can feature the same structure.
Winter roadways can always be seen as the pathway among and through the snowbanks to reach the destination . . . spring!
One more post of Winterscapes is set for tomorrow.

More Trees

Two more tree shapes I just had to share. These were collected at Morton Arboretum in Lisle, Illinois, just about a year ago.

Shapes

Winterscapes are great for shapes. Whether it is the tree lacking leaves and showing its bones or whether it is the blanket of snow changing the arc of a statue, there is always an interesting shape to collect.
Winterscape? Wintershape!

Reflecting

Two reflective images collected about a year ago in Wisconsin Dells. The slow-moving river allowed the reflection of both scenes to be mirror-smooth, while the distincitve rocky formations in the other photo are required for the photographer's Dells collection. The view of the bridge with its attendant light poles is an image that works with either end up.